An estimated 300,000 iPads bought on day one, plus a Steve Jobs sighting in Palo Alto

By John Boudreau jboudreau@mercurynews.com

Posted:
04/03/2010 01:07:23 PM PDT

Updated:
04/06/2010 08:42:08 AM PDT

The iPad arrived in Silicon Valley on Saturday with the usual Apple flourish: stores perfectly prepped for fired-up fans, some of whom waited in lines throughout the night to get their hands on the highly coveted tablet.

A number of Apple apostles did experience more than the thrill of holding a new shiny object: They got a serendipitous jolt of tech royalty. In San Jose, overnighters and early-risers got to hobnob with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, who joined the pre-iPad vigil at 6 p.m. Friday at Valley Fair mall. In Palo Alto, Apple CEO Steve Jobs sauntered unannounced into the University Avenue store shortly before noon to drink in the scene.

Many in the crowd pulled out cameras and iPhones to capture the most magic of Silicon Valley moments. Jobs chatted with a handful of other shoppers, but even his 30-minute invasion did not get in the way of their serious business — the buying of and playing with new iPads.

Some in the tech industry question whether the iPad, and competing gadgets to be rolled out in coming months, will ever be more than a niche product. Others, though, see the mouse-less slender slab as an inflection point that could redefine the portable computer industry. The device, with its sensitive multitouch screen, allows users to access videos, book catalogs, newspapers and all that is on the Web with a swipe of a fingertip.

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Among the early iPad buyers was Dr. Kathy Corby, an emergency room physician from Hollister who made the 90-minute drive to Palo Alto to buy an iPad, though she had to start a 13-hour work shift later in the day.

"Have you touched one?" she said after being asked why she showed up at 7:30 a.m. at the Apple store. "It's going to change everything about how you live. You are going to be connected to everything. You are 30 seconds away from anything you need to know. It's really amazing."

Apple's powerful pull was on display Saturday as the company rolled out iPads that run on a Wi-Fi network and are priced starting at $499. The most expensive iPad, equipped to run on both Wi-Fi and 3G networks, sells for $829. The company is expected to start selling 3G iPads within a few weeks. Already, Wi-Fi iPads have popped on Craigslist; a 64-gigabyte version, for example, which retails for $699, had an asking price of $1,000.

Apple on Monday said it sold 300,000 iPads by midnight Saturday. Earlier, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who had predicted that as many as 300,000 iPads would be sold this weekend, revised his numbers upward Saturday to between 600,000 and 700,000 units purchased on the first day. That contrasts with 270,000 iPhones sold during that product's initial launch.

Jason Slack-Moehrle and his wife, Annette, were the first in line outside Apple's Valley Fair store. The two showed up at 1 p.m. Friday. And they had company from the world's most famous Apple fan, Wozniak, No. 4 in line, who arrived at 6 p.m.

When the couple walked into the store, they were greeted by a gauntlet of cheering Apple employees. A little after 9 a.m., they emerged from the store flushed with excitement and carrying two iPads.

"We got them," Jason Slack-Moehrle said. "Yeah, it was awesome."

"It's a big rush," his wife said.

Twelve-year-old Joshua Elefteratos, who had pre-ordered his iPad, was first in line among those who had reserved their tablets. His father secured the top spot by showing up at midnight; Joshua joined him at 7:30 a.m.

As the two left the store 15 minutes after it opened, Joshua Elefteratos held his tablet over his head. "It's like I'm holding the Bible," the Saratoga boy said.

High-tech fame

For Parth Dhebar, a budding entrepreneur at age 15, the decision to show up so early was a business one. His Web site, www.simple-reviews.com, provides reviews of iPhone apps. With the arrival of the iPad, he has to expand his offerings.

"We need to expand to review iPad reviews," he said. "But without an iPad, we couldn't do that." Thus, Dhebar, who lives in Cupertino — "right next to Apple headquarters," he was quick to explain — lined up at the mall and, it turned out, in front of Wozniak, an "awesome experience."

The ever-buoyant Wozniak brought along his Segway, which he used to cruise the empty mall halls. "To me, the waiting in line is like reliving the days you waited in line for concert tickets in college," Wozniak said. "Yeah, I could easily arrange to get an iPad in different ways. But I like to do this like everybody else."

In Palo Alto, the presence of Apple guru Jobs gave everyone a brush with the highest of Silicon Valley high-tech fame.

Wearing a black hoodie and jeans, Jobs, who came with his wife, Laurene Powell-Jobs, and daughter, scanned the displays of tech goodies and watched Apple employees give iPad how-to demonstrations. And he drew amazed gazes from shoppers already expressing excitement overload.

"I love the iPad," one 20-something female shopper blurted out to Jobs. To which he happily replied, "Good!"